Starbucks Is Now Selling $150 Smart Ember Temperature Control Mugs

It’s extremely possible to launch a successful startup business that goes from strength-to-strengh if you have the right product that appeals to consumers, managed to market that product well and in the right places, and more importantly, if you managed to pick up a little bit of good fortune and luck along the way.

However, it’s also extremely helpful if one of the most recognized brands in the world picks up your products and starts selling it in its stores, as is the case with Starbucks and its new range of Ember Temperature Control Mugs from Ember Technologies Inc.

If you keep abreast of new entries into the world of innovative technology, and in particular those that seek funding via crowdsourced means, then you may already be familiar with Ember Technologies Inc. and the Indiegogo campaign that it ran last year to fund a new type of mug that would keep hot drinks at an optimum temperature for sipping for hours on end.

The company has now managed to shift more than 4,000 units to date, and has also now signed a deal with Starbucks Corp. that will see the product sold in stores across the United States for $149.95. Granted, when you’re purchasing a Venti Americano from the world’s largest coffee chain, you actually get either a sit in or take-out cup with the drink. After all, it would be a fairly useless service without it.

So why would you want to part with an additional $149.95 as part of that order to get an Ember Mug? Well, it seems that the research suggests that most outlets service hot drinks at a specific temperature – usually 160-degrees fahrenheit – whereas the optimum drinking temperature is more like 130-degrees. The Ember product uses internal technology to get the drink evenly to that optimum temperature, and then hold it there for hours.

And this is more than actually just a vessel for liquid. Those who purchase the technology will need to put it through a one time charge before it’s ready for use, and there is even an accompanying mobile app that puts it well and truly in the bracket of being a connected device.

The question is, if you walk into Starbucks in the United States with an Ember Mug that you’ve already purchased, will they actually make your coffee in that mug?